New York Knicks rookie point guard Tyler Kolek was as good as advertised.
Kolek delivered an impressive NBA Summer League debut, producing eye-popping numbers: 7 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists without a single turnover in 30 minutes during the Knicks’ 94-90 loss to Charlotte Hornets on Saturday, July 13, at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
“Yeah, I’m just trying to come in and do whatever [coach Tom Thibodeau] asks me to do,” Kolek said, per Newsday. “Just keep my head down, do what he asks me to do. I’m a worker . . . That’s my calling card. I’m going to be in the gym, I’m going to get better. Really whatever the team needs, what the coach needs, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Kolek was a team-high plus-9, the only Knicks player who finished the game with a positive net rating.
“Very unselfish, great floor game,” Knicks Summer League coach Dice Yoshimoto said, per Newsday. “Tough, smart and obviously a winner.”
Kolek was listed as No. 26 on Bleacher Report’s list of the top 30 NBA Summer League prospects. And he did not disappoint.
The 23-year-old point guard out of Marquette did what he does best: setting up his teammates for easy buckets.
Tyler Kolek on his Knicks debut:
7 points
7 assists (0 turnovers 🤯🤯)
7 rebounds
1 charge
+9
My man didn’t come here to laugh…🍿🥶
(📽️🎬 @IQfor3 )
Kolek was the nation’s leading assist man last season, averaging 7.7 per game for the Golden Eagles who made it to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2013.
If Kolek continues to impress, there is a chance he could earn a spot in the Knicks rotation as Jalen Brunson‘s backup.
Knicks Paid a Lot to Select Tyler Kolek
The Knicks traded up from 38th to 34th in the second round of the NBA Draft to select Kolek, sending three second-round picks (2027, 2029 and 2030) to the Portland Trail Blazers for his draft rights.
They were really high on Kolek as they signed him to a record-setting NBA contract for a second-round pick.
According to SNY’s Ian Begley, the 23-year-old Kolek will collect $6.6 million, the most guaranteed money ever given to a second-round pick.
“Prior record was Andrew Nembhard’s $6.4 million. Kolek’s Knicks deal is the most a team can pay a second-rounder under the second-round exception,” Begley wrote on X on July 5.
Kolek’s coach at Marquette believes Thibodeau would love his top point guard.
“Tom Thibodeau is known as the toughest, grittiest, most hard-nosed coach in the NBA, and Tyler Kolek is tough, he’s gritty, he’s competitive, he doesn’t back down from any challenge,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart told New York Post. “So I think that’ll be a real fit for him.”
Knicks’ Gritty Comeback Fell Short
With Kolek’s heady play and the explosive performances of the Knicks’ G League mainstays Duane Washington Jr. and Jacob Toppin, they almost pulled off a 15-point comeback against the Hornets.
Toppin, however, missed a game-tying layup off an incredible after-timeout-play from Yoshimoto, in the final six seconds that allowed the Hornets to escape.
Down 2 with 7 seconds left, Knicks’ Summer League Head Coach Dice Yoshimoto draws up a doozy of a play that sees both Duane Washington Jr. and Tyler Kolek used as decoys before freeing up Jacob Toppin for a layup. Toppin can’t convert and the Hornets escape with a close victory.
Washington led the Knicks with a game-high 26 points while Toppin finished with 19.
Lithuanian guard Rokas Jokubaitis, a Knicks draft stash from 2022, added eight points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 14 minutes off the bench.
Knicks’ first-round draft pick Pacome Dadiet had a jittery start to his NBA career with only five points on 2 of 8 shooting from the floor. Their other rookie, Ariel Hukporti, fared better. The German-American center, picked 58th overall, scored six points on 50% shooting and grabbed five rebounds in 17 minutes.
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Knicks Rookie Produces Eye-Popping Numbers: ‘That’s My Calling Card’